Packing member for packing wafer container

ABSTRACT

A packing member for packing a wafer container in a carton for transportation includes a rectangular frame which has a receiving space, at least one recess disposed at an outer side thereof opposite to the receiving space, and retaining portions respectively projecting from an inner side of the rectangular frame into the receiving space, and support elements respectively protruding over the top and bottom surfaces of the rectangular frame.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to packing members and more particularly,to such a packing member, which is practical for use to pack a wafercontainer in a carton for transportation that effectively protectsstorage wafers against impact and vibrations.

2. Description of the Related Art

In semiconductor industry, wafer cassettes and wafer containers(carriers) are commonly used for carrying wafers. A wafer cassette orwafer container can hold multiple pieces of wafers at a time, keepingstorage wafers in a clean environment for transportation. However, whenloading wafers in a wafer cassette, wafers may crack or be contaminatedby particles in the external environment easily. Using wafer containersto carry wafers are safer.

When transporting wafers in a wafer container, packing members of foamedpolystyrene are commonly used to pack the wafer container in a carton sothat the wafer container is protected against impact and vibrations.However, if wafers of thickness below 15 mil are carried in a wafercontainer for transportation, the storage wafers may crack easily duringtransportation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances inview. It is therefore the main object of the present invention toprovide a packing member for packing a wafer container in a carton fortransportation, which well protects the wafer container against impactand vibrations, preventing damage to wafers of any different sizesstored in the wafer container.

To achieve this object of the present invention, the packing membercomprises a frame having a receiving space, at least one recess disposedat an outer side thereof opposite to the receiving space, and aplurality of retaining portions respectively extending from an innerside surrounding the receiving chamber and projecting into the receivingspace. A plurality of support elements respectively are disposed at theframe in a manner that the support elements respectively protrude overat least one of top and bottom surfaces of the frame.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of a packing member according to a preferredembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the packing member according to the preferredembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the packing member according to the preferredembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic drawing, showing a wafer container packed inbetween two abutted packing members.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, a packing member in accordance with thepreferred embodiment of the present invention is directly molded fromanti-static expanded polyethylene (EPE) foam, comprising a rectangularopen frame 11, a plurality of retaining portions 21, and a plurality ofsupport elements 31.

The rectangular open frame 11 has two opposite long sides 12 and twoopposite short sides 13 connected between the two opposite long sides 12and defining with the two opposite long sides 12 a receiving space 14.Each long side 12 has a recess 15 on the middle. The recess 15 isrecessed in a direction from the outer surface of the respective longside 12 toward the inner surface thereof at a predetermined distance.Each long side 12 further has a column 16 at the bottom sidecorresponding to the respective recess 15. Two connecting bars 17 areconnected between the two short sides 13. Each connecting bar 17 has sixsupport rods 18 at the bottom side.

The retaining portions 21 are tapered rod members respectively formedintegral with the inner surfaces of the long sides 12 and the shortsides 13 and projecting from the inner surfaces of the long sides 12 andthe short side 13 into the receiving space 14. The support elements 31are rectangular posts respectively disposed at the connection areasbetween the long sides 12 and the short sides 13 and verticallyextending over the top and bottom surfaces of the long sides 12 and theshort sides 13.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, when packing a wafer container 41, twopacking members of the present invention are abutted against each otherto hold the wafer container 41 in the receiving space 14 of each packingmember, keeping the peripheral walls 42 of the wafer container 41stopped against the retaining portions 21 and the top and bottom walls43, 44 of the wafer container 41 stopped against the connecting bars 17.Thereafter, the two packing members with the wafer container 41 are putin a carton 51 to have the outer surfaces of the long sides 12 and shortsides 13 of the rectangular open frame 11, the support elements 31 andthe support rods 18 respectively stopped against the inside wall of thecarton 51.

Because the support elements 31 and the support rods 18 protrude overthe top and bottom surfaces of the rectangular open frame 11 and stoppedagainst the inside wall of the carton 51, the packing members and thecarton 51 are kept in contact at specific points. Further, the recesses15 at each long side 12 provide the same contact effect. Further more,because the retaining portions 21 are respectively projecting from theinner surfaces of the long sides 12 and short sides 13 of therectangular open frame 11 and stopped against the wafer container 41,the packing members and the wafer container 41 are kept in contact atspecific points. Therefore, the water container 41 is supported on theinside wall of the carton 51 at specific points by means of the twopacking members, and the two packing members well support the wafercontainer 41 against any impact or vibrations during transportation.Therefore, the packing members effectively lessen transmission ofvibrating force from the carton 51 to the wafer container 51 duringtransportation. According to actual dropping and vibration tests, wafersof different sizes (including 11 mil thickness wafers) are kept intactin the wafer container.

Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described indetail for purposes of illustration, various modifications andenhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except asby the appended claims.

1. A packing member for packing wafer container, said packing membercomprising: a frame having a receiving space, at least one recessdisposed at an outer side opposite to said receiving space, and aplurality of retaining portions respectively extending from an innerside facing said receiving chamber and projecting into said receivingspace; and a plurality of support elements disposed respectively at saidframe in a manner that said support elements protrude over at least oneof top and bottom surfaces of said frame.
 2. The packing member asclaimed in claim 1, which is molded from anti-static expandedpolyethylene foam.
 3. The packing member as claimed in claim 1, whereinsaid frame is a rectangular frame having two opposite long sides and twoopposite short sides that define said receiving space.
 4. The packingmember as claimed in claim 3, wherein said at least one recess isrespectively formed on an outer surface of each of said long side. 5.The packing member as claimed in claim 3, wherein said retainingportions are respectively formed integral with an inner surface of eachof said long sides and said short sides.
 6. The packing member asclaimed in claim 3, further comprising two connecting bars respectivelyconnected between said two opposite short sides, said connecting barseach having at least one support rod at a bottom side thereof.
 7. Thepacking member as claimed in claim 3, wherein said two opposite longsides each have a column at a bottom side thereof corresponding to oneof said at least one recess.